Figure 1.

O. tsutsugamushi transcriptionally expresses Ank, T1SS, and T4SS genes during infection of mammalian host cells. RT-PCR using primers targeting genes encoding O. tsutsugamushi Anks (A), T1SS components (B), T4SS components (C), and the 16S rRNA gene (infection control) (A) was performed on DNA-free total RNA isolated from infected L929 cells (RT lanes). O. tsutsugamushi genomic DNA and water served as positive (+) and negative (−) controls, respectively. Results are representative of two experiments with similar results.